Much of Newton’s Charles River water front is a wonderful recreational resource for our city. Any day of the week you can see lots of folks walking, bicycling, strolling, bird watching, jogging along the river between Auburndale and Watertown Square. Further up stream, Echo Bridge/Hemlock Gorge is one of the city’s most beloved parks. Beyond that, at the edge of the city, is Nahanton Park with more walking trails, canoeing and boating.
In the middle, between Route 9 and Rt 16 is a mile and half stretch of riverfront parkland alongside Quinobequin Rd. Years ago this stretch of the river was a well maintained showpiece but over the last 30 years it slowly degraded and became less used, maintained, and loved.
This past spring a group of local residents formed the Friends of the Quinobequin with the mission of shining a light on this neglected gem and restoring a bit of its former luster. Since the formation of the Friends group they’ve made a good start. In the spring they organized a few days of volunteer crews doing trash removal, cutting invasive vines that were killing the trees, pulling poison ivy, and clearing overgrown portions of the trails.
The Friends of Quinobequin recently received some good news from the Dept of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Maureen Reilly-Meagher one of the founding members of the Friends of Quinobequin applied for a DCR matching grant to pay for the construction of two pieces of boardwalk where the Quinobequin trails turn to mud puddles after every rainy day. The good news: the DCR just awarded the grant for the boardwalk. The bad news: the Friends of Quinobequin must raise their portion ($1667) by the end of the month.
The clock is ticking. If you can help out, write a check to the “Waban Area Council”, write “FOTQ” on the memo line and mail it to Friends of Quinobequin, c/o Waban Area Council, P. O. Box 11, Newton, MA, 02468.
If you can’t write a check then go take a walk down those trails and sign up as a Friend of the Quinobequin.
Thanks Jerry,I hope this worthy project will be the start of further attention being brought to this hidden jewel in Newton.If you wish to support with a donation,there is now a feature on the Wabanareacouncil.com web site under
Friends of the Quinobequin page which allows for a credit card or PayPal transaction.
Maureen and Jerry – Thanks so much for championing this. I sued to walk through the area all the time when we lived on Carlton, and it really is an underutilized resource. Not to mention (as Maureen knows) the Charles can be an interesting neighbor, and the more we spend time on or alongside it, the better we can understand its changes.
I put my check in the mailbox last night. Let me know if you don’t see it in next few days.
“sued”=”used” Brain is ahead of my typing
Jerry: Thank you for advertising this most worthy project. For those wondering…the Friends of the Quinobequin is a “wholly owned subsidiary”, that is, an approved Committee, of the Waban Area Council, voted into existence by the Council last spring. Our Councilors all support the upgrading of this valuable parkland and especially applaud Councilor Maureen Reilly-Meagher for her research, focus and persistence in bringing the FOTQ organization (as we affectionately refer to it) from dream to reality and for her diligence in seeking out funding for the initiation of this parkland restoration! Go Maureen!
@Chris: My check is also in the mail! I hope everyone who reads this will also open their wallets today to help us to meet a very near deadline (a very few weeks from now) for raising the matching funds for this generous DCR grant.
You can now donate on-line via PayPal or credit card on the Friends of Quinobequin web page.
Last week I was recruited to make my acting debut as a prison guard. This week I was recruited to play myself for a public service announcement. I might have to get an agent soon.
Take a look and write a check.
Ooops. Video now fixed. Sorry about that
I just heard that the Friends of Quinnobequin has hit their fundraising goal for their portion of the DCR matching grant. Congrats to Maureen Reilly Meagher for putting the grant application together, the Friends of Quinobequin for raising the money and the donors for ante’ing up for these nice little improvements to the parkland.